Updating label text doesn't work until I reload the UIView - ios

Question

I am struggling with an issue which I simply do not understand. Here is the following scenario:
I try to create a multi-view wizard in iOS. After much consideration I decided to go with an approach that may not be ideal but will help me keep the code clean. I don't want to chain ten view controllers and manage the manually.
The wizard has one view controller. At start it loads a certain amount of UIView's into the view and allows me to scroll left and right. Code below.
The UIViews are created in interface builder and I have one XIB file containing all the views.
Each UIView has more IBOutlets (for example a label) which are connected to the File Owner, in this case the wizard view controller.
This all works really well EXCEPT for the fact that the labels on the loaded UIViews don't update. Here is the problem:
I call the wizard and it loads all UIViews as well as Outlets right then
I skip through the wizard.
But then the problem occurs:
Example:
Step 2 has a button to call the address book (which works)
The Address book opens, returns an object (which works)
But my Label on UIView "Step 2" doesn't update when I assign a value.
Only after I remove this UIView from the Wizard and add it back, it works. It seems to me that the UIView loads correctly but any subsequent changes to their outlets don't work.
By the way, I verified that the label as well as the buttons and everything is connected probably. I just cannot update the label when its loaded as part of the XIB and the value changes after the initial load.
Code:
Wizard loading UIViews:
-(void)configureWizard
{
self.showsHorizontalScrollIndicator = NO;
self.showsVerticalScrollIndicator = NO;
self.scrollEnabled = NO;
self.contentSize = CGSizeMake(CGRectGetWidth(self.frame) * [wizardDelegate numberOfSteps], CGRectGetHeight(self.frame));
self.delegate = self;
}
-(void)loadWizard
{
[self configureWizard];
[self updateNavButtonsIfNecessary];
currentIndex = 0;
for (int i = 0; i<[wizardDelegate numberOfSteps]; i++)
{
[self loadWizardStepAtIndex:i];
}
}
- (void)loadWizardStepAtIndex:(int)index {
CGRect frame = self.frame;
frame.origin.x = CGRectGetWidth(frame) * index;
frame.origin.y = 0;
UIView *view = [wizardDelegate viewForStepAtIndex:index];
view.frame = frame;
[self addSubview:view];
}
Wizard Main View Controller.h (File Owner)
#property (strong, nonatomic) IBOutlet UIView *memberwizard_1;
#property (strong, nonatomic) IBOutlet UIView *memberwizard_2;
#property (strong, nonatomic) IBOutlet UIView *memberwizard_3;
#property (strong, nonatomic) IBOutlet UIView *memberwizard_4;
#property (strong, nonatomic) IBOutlet UIView *memberwizard_5;
#property (strong, nonatomic) IBOutlet UIView *memberwizard_6;
#property (strong, nonatomic) IBOutlet UIView *memberwizard_7;
#property (strong, nonatomic) IBOutlet UIButton *wizard2_lookupExistingContact;
#property (strong, nonatomic) IBOutlet UILabel *wizard2_nameLabel;
Wizard Main View Controller.m (File Owner)
-(UIView *)viewForStepAtIndex:(int)index
{
[[[NSBundle mainBundle]loadNibNamed:#"wizard_newMember" owner:self options:nil] lastObject];;
switch (index) {
case 0:
return self.memberwizard_1;
break;
case 1:
return self.memberwizard_2;
break;
case 2:
return self.memberwizard_3;
break;
case 3:
return self.memberwizard_4;
break;
case 4:
return self.memberwizard_5;
break;
case 5:
return self.memberwizard_6;
break;
case 6:
return self.memberwizard_7;
break;
default:
return self.memberwizard_1;
}
}
Return function of the address book
-(void)peoplePickerNavigationController:(ABPeoplePickerNavigationController *)peoplePicker didSelectPerson:(ABRecordRef)person
{
[self displayPersonRecord:person];
[self dismissViewControllerAnimated:YES completion:nil];
}
Trying to update the label on the second UIView (this is where the issue occurs - it doesnt work).
-(void) displayPersonRecord:(ABRecordRef)person
{
NSString *firstName = (__bridge_transfer NSString*)ABRecordCopyValue(person, kABPersonFirstNameProperty);
NSString *lastName = (__bridge_transfer NSString*)ABRecordCopyValue(person, kABPersonLastNameProperty);
NSLog(#"Name is %#", [NSString stringWithFormat:#"%# %#", firstName, lastName]);
self.wizard2_nameLabel.text = [NSString stringWithFormat:#"%# %#", firstName, lastName];
[self.wizardDelegate refresh:self.memberwizard_2]; //if called, the current view will be removed and re-added - then the label gets updated.
}
But as I mentioned if I reload the view then it works (see screenshot)
Reload method IMPORTANT: this is nasty code and not used in production, its just a test to see if a reload of the view helps.
-(void)refresh:(UIView *) oldView
{
[oldView removeFromSuperview];
CGRect frame = self.frame;
frame.origin.x = CGRectGetWidth(frame) * currentIndex;
frame.origin.y = 0;
//UIView *view = [wizardDelegate viewForStepAtIndex:currentIndex];
oldView.frame = frame;
[self addSubview:oldView];
}
If at this point I remove self.memberwizard_2 view from the wizard and add it back in everything works but it doesn't right away. Could that be related to way I initiate the UIViews? By the way the NSLog in the last paragraph works as well showing the name of the contact.
In case anyone knows an easier way to deal with wizards let me know :) PageViewControllers are painful because I need to hand-over one object from screen to screen but need to display different actions in each screen.
Thanks much and apologies for the code mess, I tried to make it as clear as possible but maybe it isn't.

Answer 1

Here's where I think it goes wrong. For each "WizardStep", you call viewForStepAtIndex which loads the NIB and returns the relevant view. You then add that as a subview. But when you process the next WizardStep, the NIB gets loaded again, which creates new instances of all its objects and reconnects all the Outlets and Actions to the newly loaded objects. So the view you have just added as a subview (and so is displayed) is no longer pointed to by your outlets. Thus when you update the label, it is not updating the label on screen, but a completely different label on a view that's not in the hierarchy at all.
So, I would revise your code so that the loadNibNamed: method gets run only once.